Our Mid May Update is going to get right to the point.
We are very saddened to share that one of our biggest advocates and supporters, New Hope Recovery Center, will be closing their doors on June 30th. With the time remaining to us this month and in June, please join us in offering our gratitude to them for their commitment to the community.
In addition, we as a Sangha will need to use the intervening time to find new meeting spaces for our Monday, Tuesday, and Friday meetings! Let’s start generating some ideas for some nearby spaces: reach out to let us know of any opportunities or ideas that come to mind, or let us know about them in person on June 8th at New Hope for our Facilitator Support Meeting.
We can’t help but be excited: we know this just another opportunity for our communities growth. Help us put your mark on our next chapter!
Refcon 5 Scholarships!
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CHICAGO SANGHA MEMBERS TO REFCON5 are available! If you are in need of assistance we are offering a limited number of full and partial scholarships to community members. Please follow the link here to apply by answering some questions about you, and your community involvement! Submit between now and June 5th to be considered.
Refcon5 Chicago Scholarship Application
When: July 12-14, 2019
Where: University of Illinois – Chicago
Events & Announcements
* Thursday Night Oak Park Meeting
The Oak Park meeting has a new location. We will meet at 124 North Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park for the next 8 weeks, more or less. The location is called Gale House and it’s directly south of Unity Temple. We will be in the living room. Closest Green Line stop is the Oak Park Avenue stop. Join us!
When: Thursday Nights, May and June @ 7pm
Where: Gale House
* Welcoming Committee
We’ve now had three meetings for our Welcoming Committee, and things are moving fast. Join us to get involved in producing the event. We’re finding donors for raffle items, planning social itineraries around the event, and sourcing swag to help cement this event. Help us make Chicago the place to meet!
When: Thursday, May 30th @ 6pm-7pm
Where: Center on Halsted in Lakeview
* Meeting Facilitator Support
Refuge Recovery in Chicago is growing quickly and for good reason. We are reaching people in a way that feels both refreshingly new as well as deeply personal.
On June 8th, we are holding our first Facilitator Support session to talk through what it means to facilitate a meeting and provide an open, safe place for all people who come to the meetings. This session is open to anyone, no matter if you are interested in chairing meetings or simply looking for a place to talk about your personal experiences. Your presence will make an impact on recovery in Chicago!
When: Saturday, June 8th @ 10am-12pm
Where: New Hope Recovery Center
* 57th Street Art Fair
Held every year on the first full weekend in June, the 57th Street Art Fair is a two-day outdoor celebration of the visual arts held in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, adjacent to the University of Chicago campus and the home of President Barack Obama. Artists and art lovers reunite at Chicago’s oldest juried art fair in the Midwest, featuring the work of up to 200 exhibitors. Most are returning artists, but each year between 50 and 75 new exhibitors are invited to participate by a jury made up of collectors, critics, curators and artists.
Admission is Free! Parking information is available on the website link below. Meet us there at 11am, then come to our intersangha meeting at 4pm at New Hope!
When: Sunday, June 2nd @ 11am
Where: 57th Street, between Kenwood and Woodlawn Avenues
* Weekly Inventory Writing
Enjoy some company as we begin to find time each week to fumble through this important exercise together. Come to find a friend to share your story with, or to meet one to help you find the courage to start writing it!
Also, join us upstairs at 7pm for our weekly LGBTQIA meeting, and then for fellowship afterwards!
When: Every Saturday from @ 6pm-7pm
Where: 1st Floor lobby of the Center on Halsted in Lakeview
* Book Orders – New Hope Recovery Centerwill be holding a back stock of literature for our meetings going forward. If you’re interested in purchasing replacement literature at cost for an existing meeting, or getting help furnishing a new meeting, contact us at Refuge Recovery Chicago.
Facilitator Testimonials
Lizzy Richter-Bryant, New Hope Recovery Tuesday Nights
“I had a foot in Refuge and a foot outside of Refuge when Michael started asking for someone to facilitate the Tuesday meeting at New Hope. My heart was interested but the inner critic was loud and kept me from speaking up. I’m grateful I did! Leading that meeting helped me get strongly connected to Refuge Recovery and our Sangha. I found my voice, confidence, a practice, and a long-needed home in recovery.” Lizzy Richter-Bryant
Zoe Winter, New Hope Recovery Friday Nights
“When I came in to Refuge and I sat in meetings meditating, I remember thinking ‘how do they guide these meditations with such ease and softness.’ I realized that they were using a provided script, reading it slowly with lots of space, and that I could probably do it too if I tried. Facilitating has been one of the most instrumental experiences of recovery for me. I love the accountability of knowing that I will be at the meeting when it’s my turn to facilitate and witnessing all the healing and support that happens in the meeting week after week. On weeks that I’ve needed to find a sub I have always been able to find someone. And the action of showing up and reaching out for help is really important and powerful work for me.” Zoe Winter
Service Opportunities!
March was a great month for our intersangha: just this Saturday, we enjoyed an architecture tour of the Chicago Cultural Center, pictured above. And earlier this month we gathered for our first inventory workshop! Our Outreach committee members lead education events on Refuge at local recovery center’s, and began talking directly with several local Health Care providers. Work like this happens when we work together; join us in doing so this April! Enthusiasm is the only requirement; experience with any of this kind of work is a blessing
If you’re interested in joining us in working to spread Refuge Recovery, by finding new homes for meetings, or in introducing our practice to institutions, Outreach needs you! Reach out to Michael Kramer if you’re interested in hearing more.
Are you a Social Butterfly? Come create great opportunities for fellowship with your friends amongst the Sangha (both those you know and those you haven’t met yet) with our Activities Committee! Get ahold of Zoe Winter if you want to work with Sangha on the Third Jewel.
If you’re interested in helping us prepare for our part in producing RefCon 5 this July, join our Welcoming Committee by sending us an email directly at Refuge Recovery Chicago
Please Consider Donating!
We are funded entirely through the generosity of our local meetings, as well as from donations from the public. We use donations to help support the local community for things such as outreach and activities, retreats and workshops, and other operational expenses. Please help support us in getting our message out to those who are still suffering by donating today!
DONATE NOW!
Happy to be of service!
Have some ideas or suggestions to share? Need to order books for your local meeting? Do you just want to say hello? Please be sure to reach out via email at refugerecoverychicago@gmail.com at any time an we will be sure to get back to you!
